Major Ways Technology is Changing the Business Landscape

Technology always brings about change. Sometimes, the change is small and only has an impact on a specific sector whereas in some cases, the change is major and can have an effect on various industries and sectors. More often than not, technological changes have an impact on a large scale. Just look at the computer; it has been around for years and yet we are still experiencing ripples from this change. The biggest impact of technological advancement and development has been seen in the business world because it has changed industries and renovated processes and offerings. How?

Highlighted below are some of the major ways that technology has and is changing the business landscape:

Facilitating Business Monetization

Due to the introduction of mobile technology, monetization has occurred in the business world. There was a time when customers had to walk into a shop and pay for their shopping. It slowly changed to calling in and ordering over the phone and eventually to online shopping on the internet. Now, things are different again as the prevalent use of tablets and smartphones has enabled businesses to offer transactions via numerous apps. Restaurants, retailers and even gaming firms are now offering customers the option of paying through their apps in a secure and fast manner.

Improving Interactions through Business Apps

Before the advent of the internet, the interaction between customers and businesses was over the phone or in person. These days, instant messaging, social media sites and apps allow businesses to interact with their customers on a regular basis, sharing everything from product announcements and coupons to behind-the-scene pictures and fun videos. In fact, one of the major platforms for marketing are social media sites and they allow customers to access their services regardless of location. Hence, interaction between businesses and customers can happen 24/7, offering greater convenience.

Enabling Real-Time Business Analytics

For keeping up with customer trends and crafting the most effective marketing strategies, businesses have to have up-to-date customer data. Smartphones now offer apps that can be used for gathering data in real-time, which has made it possible for businesses to react to new customer habits and trends immediately. The huge amount of data that’s gathered every day can be analyzed through different tools and sorted into customer groups and categories. This allows the data to be used in various ways and shared between office locations and departments easily and quickly through different online task management platforms. In this way, the business can see the big picture regardless of their physical location.

Rapid Development of Business Gadgets

Everywhere you go, it has become the norm to see people using their phones or some other device. Businesses are aware that potential customers are spending a better part of their day on the internet and using numerous apps. This knowledge has led to the development of additional apps and gadgets that will enable customers to interact with the business and buy their offerings as easily as possible. With more connected gadgets, a business can expand its customer base and reap the benefits in terms of higher sales and profits.

The Popularity of the Cloud

The popularity of the cloud and the plethora of cloud-based applications has enabled both businesses and consumers to retrieve data no matter where they are. All they need is access to the internet. Furthermore, the introduction of the cloud has also allowed businesses to cut down their costs because they can now ‘lease’ software from the cloud instead of paying for it. It has also eliminated the need for having hardware, which again reduces operational costs significantly and the benefits can also be passed on to the consumer.

Enhancing Business Security

Thanks to technological development in the last two decades, cyber-defense has gone from an industry of non-concern to one that makes billions on an annual basis. There has been a number of developments in the form of antivirus programs and other software to improve business security. While no system can be hacker proof, business security has improved considerably.

Apart from these changes, 24/7 availability, 3D printing, augmented reality and wearable technology are also changing the way business is done in today’s world.